European journal of emergency medicine : official journal of the European Society for Emergency Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Virtual reality and live simulation: a comparison between two simulation tools for assessing mass casualty triage skills.
This study tested the hypothesis that virtual reality simulation is equivalent to live simulation for testing naive medical students' abilities to perform mass casualty triage using the Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment (START) algorithm in a simulated disaster scenario and to detect the improvement in these skills after a teaching session. ⋯ Virtual reality simulation proved to be a valuable tool, equivalent to live simulation, to test medical students' abilities to perform mass casualty triage and to detect improvement in such skills.
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Comparative Study
Evaluation of a hospital admission prediction model adding coded chief complaint data using neural network methodology.
Our objective was to apply neural network methodology to determine whether adding coded chief complaint (CCC) data to triage information would result in an improved hospital admission prediction model than one without CCC data. ⋯ Neural net methodology application resulted in the derivation and validation of a modestly stronger hospital admission prediction model after the addition of CCC data.
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Comparative Study
Learning profiles for noninvasive transcutaneous Doppler ultrasound.
This study aimed to establish learning profiles for noninvasive transcutaneous Doppler ultrasound. ⋯ A substantial period of learning needs to be undertaken to achieve proficiency on the use of noninvasive transcutaneous Doppler ultrasound. Cumulative sum analysis is a useful tool for ongoing quality assessment during medical education and training in practical procedures on an individual basis.
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Over the past few years, the number of patients attending emergency services has increased steadily. As a result, emergency departments (EDs) worldwide face frequent crowding, with the risk of reduced treatment quality and impaired patient outcome, patient and staff dissatisfaction and inefficient use of ED resources. A qualitative process analysis and process modelling was used as a method to detect critical process steps in the ED with respect to time and efficiency. ⋯ The process analysis helped to identify inefficient process steps in the ED. Modelling with EPC is a useful tool to visualize and to understand the complexity of the emergency medical care and to identify key performance indicators for effective quality management.
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Observational Study
Factors associated with the length of stay of patients discharged from emergency department in France.
The length of stay in the emergency department (ED) has been proposed as an indicator of performance in many countries. We conducted a survey of length of stay in two large areas in France and tested the hypothesis that patient and ED-related variables may influence it. ⋯ We observed that the length of stay in the ED needs to be stratified by case mix and the total number of visits of the ED.